Podcasts

#117 (in French) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Plain language: A key to accessibility

Access to Justice – Jun 2026

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#117 (in French) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Plain language: A key to accessibility
Broadcast Date: June 4, 2026

EPISODE SUMMARY | JUSTICE WITHOUT BARRIERS SERIES | BIOGRAPHIES | RELATED DOCUMENTATION

EPISODE SUMMARY

Not knowing your rights can often mean being unable to exercise them. And not understanding them can leave you in much the same position. This raises an important question: how can we make legal information truly accessible to the people it is meant to serve?

One answer lies in plain language — a powerful tool for improving accessibility.

In this episode, Christine O’Doherty, CIAJ’s Executive Director, speaks with Elisabeth Routhier, PhD, CIAJ’s Director of Special Projects and a plain language expert, about an issue that sits at the intersection of law, public policy, and society.

Together, they break down what plain language writing really means, how this approach — taught at CIAJ — can transform legal communications, and the misconceptions and resistance that continue to surround it.

A conversation about a shared responsibility: making the law truly understandable and accessible for everyone.

Guest

Élisabeth Routhier, PhD, Director of Special Projects & Plain Language Specialist, CIAJ

Host

Christine O’Doherty, Lawyer & Executive Director, CIAJ

Justice Without Barriers Series

To mark the 2026 National AccessAbility Week, the Justice Without Barriers Series brings together podcasts, blogs, and other contents to highlight the initiatives, innovations, and people who are transforming justice in Canada—from plain language to technology, from personal experiences to best practices.

Content:

Podcast (in english) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Disability, Accessibility, and the Courts
Podcast (in French) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Plain language: A key to accessibility
Blog | Justice Without Barriers Series — From Formal Access to True Accessibility: Innovating in Law Through Engagement with Litigants

BIOGRAPHIES

Élisabeth Routhier, PhD

Director of Special Projects & Plain Language Specialist, CIAJ

Dr. Elisabeth Routhier is an expert in legal design and plain language in law. In recent years, she has helped improve the processes and methods of several decision-making bodies and has led numerous workshops and training sessions on writing reasons.

As Director of Special Projects at CIAJ, she develops new approaches to online judicial education, along with other initiatives that strengthen and expand CIAJ’s expertise.

Elisabeth has a distinctly interdisciplinary background, combining comparative literature (PhD), legislative drafting (graduate diploma), and communication studies (master’s degree).

Christine O’Doherty

Lawyer & Executive Director, CIAJ

Christine O’Doherty has been Executive Director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ) since 2017 and has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1994. A bilingual lawyer (French and English), she has strong expertise in Indigenous law and administrative law. An experienced manager and effective communicator, she has also played a key role throughout her career in the development and implementation of public and government relations strategies for various high-profile organizations.

A certified trainer and adult education specialist, Ms. O’Doherty has nearly 10 years of experience in continuing legal education at CIAJ. She designs and facilitates specialized workshops, including on judgment and decision writing, tailored to the Canadian judiciary and other legal professionals. She has also contributed to the development of customized programs for courts, aimed at improving writing quality, decision-making effectiveness, and access to justice.

Before joining CIAJ, Ms. O’Doherty taught for 14 years at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal, where she was responsible for the cross-disciplinary skills program for undergraduate and graduate students. This experience allowed her to build strong expertise in instructional design and the delivery of key competencies.

At CIAJ, she oversees the development and implementation of innovative training programs for the judiciary and the Canadian legal community, incorporating participatory and practice-oriented approaches. Her initiatives focus particularly on contemporary issues related to access to justice and improvements in judicial administration.

Alongside her professional responsibilities, Ms. O’Doherty devotes part of her free time to writing novels.